The T&T Clark Handbook of Suffering and the Problem of Evil provides
an extensive exploration of the theology of theodicy, asking questions
such as should all instances of suffering necessarily be understood as
evil? Why would an omnipotent and benevolent God allow or perpetrate
evil? Is God unable or unwilling to reduce human and non-human suffering
on Earth? Does humanity have the capacity to exercise a moral evaluation
of God's motives and intentions?
Conventional disciplinary boundaries have tended to separate theological
approaches to these questions from philosophical ones. This volume aims
to overcome these boundaries by including biblical (Part I), historical
(Part II), doctrinal (Part III), philosophical (Part IV), and pastoral,
interreligious perspectives and alternative intersections (Part V) on
theodicy.
Authors include thinkers from analytic and continental traditions,
multiple Christian denominations and other religions, and both
established and younger scholars, providing a full variety of
approaches. What unites the essays is an attempt to answer these
questions from the perspective of biblical testimony, historical
scholarship, modern theological and philosophical thinking about the
concept of God, non-Christian religions, science and the arts. The
result is a combination of in-depth analysis and breadth of scope,
making this a benchmark work for further studies in the theology of
suffering and evil.
